There are currently a number of pocket setters available which are designed to pre-fold and sew pockets onto essentially flat, single ply garment parts. These machines are used primarily by the shirt, jean and uniform portions of the apparel industry and to some extent by makers of T-shirts. However, since the bodies of T-shirts are made of tubes that are knitted to size, the utilization of pocket setting equipment designed for single-ply garments on or in connection with tubular knit bodies, prior to the present invention, has been extremely difficult, or impossible, without stretching and distortion of the area of the garment body to which a pocket is stitched. Subsequent relaxation of the distorted area after pocket setting results in disparity (puckering) between the garment body and the pocket resulting in unacceptable quality and a high rate of rejection. In fact, it has only been possible to set pockets (although poorly) onto men's size T-shirt bodies (but not youth's or children's sizes) because only the largest sizes may be stretched and distorted sufficiently.
The apparatus of the present invention solves this problem in a unique manner, permits the utilization of standard flat garment pocket setting equipment on tubular knit bodies or alternatively the use of such apparatus on flat garment parts, knitted or woven.